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Takeback Tuesday: taking back justice

Today is pub day for a book I’ve been involved with for the past year or more:

Anatomy of Innocence is the brainchild of Laura Caldwell and Leslie S.Klinger, both lawyers, both friends of mine. Laura is the director and founder of the Life After Innocence clinic at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, which works with wrongfully convicted individuals or other innocent persons to help them re-enter society and reclaim their lives. Life After Innocence was inspired by one of her clients, a 19-year-old man, who sat in a Cook County holding cell for nearly six years without a trial before Laura and a renowned criminal defense attorney won his release.

Anatomy of Innocence has fifteen top writers, each of whom tells one portion of the story that every one of these falsely convicted people went through.

But the real beauty of the book is how the stubborn belief of individuals—attorneys, family, and the convicted persons themselves—can win out despite the massive authority of the judicial system.

Something to keep in mind, as we look at ways to take back our Tuesdays.

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I will be part of an event in San Francisco in June, talking about the project with Les and Laura. There are also events in New York, Madison, Chicago, LA, and Denver, with more to come—see the events page, here.